B.C. notched another 673 new cases of COVID-19, including six epi-linked cases, for a total of 44,776 cases across the province.
Interior Health (IH) reported 66 cases overnight bringing the total case count to 3,064 while 809 cases currently are active and in isolation.
The province’s total deaths related to COVID-19 now amount to 713 as 21 were reported overnight. 358 individuals currently hospitalized, 93 of whom are in intensive care. In the IH region 27 people are in hospital, seven of them in ICU. No new deaths were reported.
According to the Ministry of Health 806 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were given to B.C. front-line health-care workers on Wednesday, for a total of 1,215 doses to date.
The Ministry added, starting next week, the province will receive weekly vaccine deliveries for clinics in every health region across the province.
While the vaccines continue to trickle in, preventative measures are still being touted as the best defense against catching COVID-19.
“Here in B.C., the majority of new cases continue to be directly connected to known, confirmed cases of COVID-19,” Dr. Bonnie Henry said. “As a result, if you are a close contact of someone with the virus or of someone who is part of a cluster or outbreak and you develop any symptoms, you should arrange to get tested immediately.”
Henry outlined four distinct symptoms of COVID-19 to watch for. They include fever or chills, cough, loss of sense of smell or taste, and difficulty breathing.
“If you have one or two of any of the other symptoms, you can wait 24 hours,” Henry added. “These symptoms include sore throat, loss of appetite, extreme fatigue, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. If you feel the same or worse after 24 hours, then you should also get tested. As always, if you are uncertain, contact your health provider or call 811.”